Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheila and Tom Best.
Sheila and Tom, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Tom: Sheila always ended up as the computer guru at many of her prior jobs. Even worked for the Census Bureau to facilitate computer use there.
She worked in AIDS community, at a few organizations. She became frustrated with her inability to move into higher paying jobs at one particular organization, even though she had a great deal of responsibility and ran the day-to-day operations. She called me upset with this unfair situation and we talked about what she could do. My advice was that she should accept the way things operated there, that she was not going to convince them to appoint her to a higher position for valid and invalid reasons. She should also decide what she wanted to do with career, determine what work and the environment she wanted most and select a path toward them. You are not trapped there. Don’t be frustrated with your career, decide to change it.
So, within a few days she decided she would attend a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert certification program and work with computers, which she had done at nearly every job she ever had. She completed the program, worked for an Atlanta based IT services company that was expanding, moved to another company. After having a number of clients that she supported after hours, she decided it would work for her if she started her own company. That was in 2002. There have been many learning experiences, and growth over that time but, here she is making it happen.
I came on to help her in 2009 to assist with operations and give my thoughts to business decisions at hand. I had helped her with advice before while running small businesses of my own and when working at General Motors. I was deciding to close the small business I had at the time, looking for an employer but, before I looked too far I called Sheila to ask if she wanted my help. Her success, to that point, made her so busy it was becoming difficult. So, here we are in 2017, looking to grow more, and be even better at providing great IT & computer network services than we have so far.
Has it been a smooth road?
Our path to this point has not been perfectly smooth. We haven’t had any disasters. But, there are many lessons that have been and will be learned in life especially if a business is part of your life.
We have learned lessons about people, ourselves, business in general, and the information technology services business in particular. Finding a balance between work and home life, maintaining dedication to family while having to work to support them.
We are always learning especially about technology that our clients use, and the technology that allows us to support it.
Because of our family situation I help Sheila from another location, Southfield, MI near Detroit. I take care of my father and work with Sheila. The great thing is that technology allows us to work together and I assist her in helping our clients and gaining new ones.
Our sister Mari-Lynn helps us periodically and we have a great IT tech, Jamar that has grown into another career position and he helps us on a part-time basis.
We have done pretty well navigating the problems that arise and the imperfections that must be resolved in all things.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with SL Best Services – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
SL Best Services is an information technology services company. We maintain and monitor, and protect the computer networks of small to medium-sized businesses. We keep their businesses running as smoothly as possible and we protect their businesses by backing up their data.
We specialize in automated, confirmable, testable, data/full system backup and data/full system recovery in situations that range from simple mistakes to building damaging disasters. We setup systems that can store and recover not only your data but, all the applications you regularly use. In a full “location damaging” disaster we can recreate the full system and even run it on alternate computers or devices until the new hardware is installed. We save in your office and offsite in large, secure data stores. So, we can restore small items in a short time and complete data packs in a few hours or in day or two depending how damaged the location is. Basically, we protect businesses and the business owner’s reputation by providing insurance of a technical variety.
Many businesses are at risk because of their risk of losing their data. Some business owners recognize that there at risk but, still won’t act to protect themselves because they may not know how much this risk costs. Some have no idea at all. But, a large portion of businesses go bankrupt when they lose their data/networks in a disaster.
What sets us apart is that we care about the people for whom we work. We care about them and because of that we want their businesses to be successful. We want to protect that business and keep it running smoothly for them. Our clients love Sheila because they know she cares about them, she shows it in her interactions with them and the work she performs for them. I am proud of her.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Likes: Great people, weather, it’s lively and cool, plenty to do of all types. The aquarium, the zoo, Olympic Park and the many other great parks. The Falcons.
A wealth of educational resources: universities, training for tech and other. It’s safe and enjoyable, and quite diverse and progressive.
Dislikes: heavy traffic and constant construction, waterfronts not close or numerous enough. We are from Detroit where there is an abundance of shoreline.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.slbestservices.com
- Phone: 404-975-4552
- Email: info@slbestservices.com
- Other: SL Best Services on LinkedIn
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
